Authors' Notes: A Valentine's Day present, from the awesomeness that is a collab between Hecate's Rath and Miss Maggie.
HR: This fic started out as a oneshot, written over the course of a few days via email and google chat. Miss Maggie, awesome authoress that she is, decided it would be a good idea to break it up into chapters because it's hellishly long. I agreed. :) So happy Valentine's Day! Or happy Singles Awareness day, if that crumbles your cookie! Thanks for stopping by!
MM: It was lots of fun writing this fic. It's horrendously sappy, teenage angsty, and overall, a love letter for Valentine's written by two authors with a similar love for Artie/Tina. So from us to all the other Artie/Tina fans out there, we'd like to present this fic to you in honor of Valentine's. Eat some chocolate (on us), have a smile and listen to your favorite romatic song--be it traditionally sappy or dysfunctionally sweet. Enjoy. You're all love.
Artie had never really much cared for Valentine's Day. Generally, he locked himself in his room and wrote a couple def poetry jams--he saw the day as a perfect opportunity to further his career.
But this year was different.
This year.... he had a girlfriend.
Granted, said girlfriend didn't particularly care for Valentine's Day (and by didn't particularly care for, Artie meant she loathed it--any excuse for couples to publicly suck face and say ooey gooey things to each other, plus a multitude of pink and red and confetti and stuff--well, in Tina's book, it definitely wasn't the greatest holiday ever), but girlfriends are girlfriends and while Artie doubted Tina would complain if he treated February 14th like any other day, he had plans.
Plans that, if everything went according to plan, would give Tina a Valentine's Day she'd never forget.
Tina never considered herself a fan of Valentine's Day. If by not a fan, meaning, "despised the holiday with every fiber of her being". It wasn't as if she had anything against love. No, she enjoyed love--romantic love, love for her friends, love for her family. She just didn't care for Valentine's Day.
If pressed, she'd sigh and explain that she didn't understand the need for a holiday specifically dedicated to love. If you loved someone, she would say,then why not tell them every single day? Hallmark didn't need to tell her when it was okay to love her boyfriend, and they definitely didn't need to tell her to buy him overpriced roses. (Flowers are nicer when they're in season, anyway.) And what about her parents? Her other friends? Were they supposed to be left out in the cold just because she wasn't in love with them?
Not to mention the pink. And the red. And the hearts. The color scheme was something that would make a second grader proud, and she's proud to say all traces of pink were excised from her wardrobe about five years ago.
But still, this year she had a boyfriend. And she did love him. She was not sorry to admit he was a lot more romantic than she was. (She actually found that rather sweet.) So, she was going to set aside her own feelings for the holiday and do something nice for Artie on Valentine's Day.
The Beatles might've said all you need is love, but Tina was putting her hopes on a rather familiar dress instead. (At least it's yellow.)
On the morning on February 14th, Artie woke up feeling--well, he'd like to say brave and romantic, but in all actuality, he actually felt rather nervous. Tina, after all, was hardly the typical girl (something Artie was actually very thankful for, and found charming) and there was a good chance that if he showed up on her doorstep with a dozen roses and a box of chocolates, bad things would happen.
Which is why Artie does not show up on Tina's doorstep with a dozen roses and a box of chocolates; he shows up on Tina's doorstep in his leather jacket with his guitar.
And yes, a dozen roses and a box of chocolates.
Tina gives the house a quiet look. She knows it's empty, she said good bye to her parents on Friday, right? They'd decided to take advantage of Valentine's being on an actual weekend day by going away for the weekend. They'd be back sometime Monday, and while Tina was happy for them (who doesn't like knowing their parents are still in love?), she didn't really enjoy spending the last two nights alone in her big empty house.
When she hears the doorbell ring on that particular day, she awkwardly tugs at the hem of her dress before opening up the door. She know it's just a dress, and it's nothing to be embarrassed of (it's a very nice dress).
"Morning, Artie," she replies, opening the door just wide enough for her to peek her head out from the side of the frame.
In hindsight, the best move at that point may not have been to thrust the roses at Tina, but it seemed like a good idea at the time. Belatedly, Artie realizes Tina'd said hi to him.
"I know you don't like roses and you don't like Valentine's Day," he says, "but, um. I got them for you anyway? I also brought you chocolate, and even though it's cliché, I know you like chocolate. And hi. Can I come in?"
"At least they're not red," Tina replies, with a winning smile for him, making it clear she's joking. She accepts the flowers, moving the thorns from where they linger dreadfully close to her face, and pushes the door open the rest of the way so that he can wheel inside of her foyer.
Once he's inside, she shuts the door behind them, then stares at him, biting her lip nervously. "It's a sweet gesture. Thank you, but really, you didn't have to go to tall the trouble, Artie." She uses her free hand to tug at her dress nervously. "Let me get some water for them, all right?" She scurries off in the direction of the kitchen.
Artie wants to say something. He does.
Unfortunately, the dress Tina is wearing does strange things to his ability to speak, and before he can remember how to form words correctly, Tina's run off.
"Um, um Tee?" he calls. "Tee? Wh-you're wearing-you look very nice," he finally manages, wheeling after her into the kitchen.
Tina is arranging the roses in a vase, focused intently on the task at hand. When she's finally happy with the arrangement, she sets the vase on the kitchen counter. Then, she looks up, finally realizing that her boyfriend's followed her into the kitchen. She tugs on the dress nervously again. "Oh. Um, you like it?" Her smile suddenly gets very shy, and she starts to flush. "I'm glad. Happy Valentine's Day."
Artie beams. "Yes. I love it. You look--" he coughs. "You look amazing in it. Happy Valentine's Day. You like the roses?"
"No one's ever given me flowers before," Tina admits softly, letting a finger trace gently over the delicate petal of one of the roses. "Why'd you pick this color? I'm curious."
"It...reminded me of you? Besides, you don't like red roses and I figured bad things would happen if I gave you pink. Besides... yellow roses are for friendship and--you're the best friend. Ever. And before you were my girlfriend...you were my best friend, and still are. The orange ones..." Artie blushes and clears his throat. "the orange ones are for desire and enthusiasm."
Tina is suitably impressed, and her expression melts into something akin to a swoon, even as she's gently tracing her fingers over the rose petals again. "I'm impressed. You've clearly put some thought into it." She sobers up a little, smiling at him, and deftly removing her fingers from the flowers. "You really didn't have to though," she says. "Not that it's not um, nice, but really. I'd still love you even if you didn't give me anything today."
Artie smiles. "I know I didn't. I wanted to." He wheels a little closer. "Really."
Tina swallows, and the next sound out of her is higher-pitched than normal. "Oh! But, it was sweet. Really sweet. But I just um, wanted to make it clear that you didn't have to. I don't want you to feel obligated, but um, wanting to is another matter altogether, I guess. I'm glad you wanted to?" She's rambling by the end of it, flustered and pleased despite herself, and she can feel her resolve weakening by the second. Her fingers twitch and she belatedly remembers she's not wearing her arm warmers today (she kind of misses them).
"Are you okay?" he asks, setting the chocolates on the counter and taking his guitar off. He sets it down gently and then wheels a little closer. "You seem a little...flustered."
"Fine!" she says, far too quickly for it to be believable. Her eyes dart toward the counter. "You brought candy too? And your guitar? You really do know how to make a girl feel special." Tina nervously pushes some hair back behind her ear, and bites her lip. "I um, thank you?"
Artie shrugs. "I figured if the roses went over badly I had a backup. Or two. You're welcome. And are you sure you're okay? Do you need to sit down?"
"Sit down?" Tina looks around the kitchen, which is devoid of any chairs or stools. "You mean, in your lap?" Her eyes glance downward at Artie. "Um. And that was smart of you. To have back-up presents. But you uh, didn't need them. I'm not that mean to you, am I?"
Artie resists the urge to roll his eyes and wheels forward until he can get his arms around Tina's waist and pull her into his lap. Then he kisses her neck. "I want you to be happy," he says. "I want you to like your presents. You aren't mean to me at all--in fact, I'd say you're too good to me. Which is why I want you to be happy. And if you didn't like the roses, I was going to try and make you happy by giving you a song or chocolate." He kisses her cheek. "And yes, in my lap. Where else?"
"Well can I have the song anyway, at least?" Tina gives him a small smile and makes herself comfortable in his lap (it's not like she hasn't done this many times before). "We can share the chocolate, I guess. Since you already brought it."
"Later," he says, pulling her closer. "You can have your song later. And the chocolate. Right now, I think I want to do something else."
"If you wanted to make out, you should've just said so." Tina pokes him in the chest. "In the first place. First you turn me into go with flowers and pretty words, and now you're like... okay, let's make out? Or at least, heavily implying it?" She buries her head in his chest. "Grah, I hate this holiday."
Artie frowns, confused. "I wasn't trying to--like, deceiveyou or anything. If you don't want--we can just, um--I'm sorry, Tee. I didn't mean to-to bribe you or whatever. I just--I actually just wanted to spend time with you today and I swore to myself I was going to make it different and I was going to-to give you a good Valentine's Day and then I-I messed it all up. I'm so sorry. I'm-- such a bad boyfriend. I'm sorry. You just--you looked so...sexy and Tina-ish and amazing in that dress and then I just--I couldn't help myself. It's like--it was like I just--I don't know. I'm sorry."
Tina pulls away from him, out of his lap, so she can curl up on the floor and bury her hands in her head. "No, I mean, don't feel bad. You're the best boyfriend ever, and I love you so much. I mean, I kinda wore this dress because I knew it'd make you happy, and yeah, I kinda wanted to make out with you today. But just, it's not your fault. I know you wanted to do something nice, and I'm trying to be nice and I liked it when you were all sweet and forceful earlier and just I'm sorry I don't know what's wrong with me and--grah."The rant ends on a frustrated scream, and Tina curls herself up into an even tighter ball on the floor, letting her hair cover her face entirely.
Alarmed, Artie maneuvers himself out of his chair onto the floor kind of awkwardly and runs a hand over her back. "Hey," he says softly, rubbing her back. "Hey, Tina, it's okay. It's okay." Artie fights back the hysteria climbing the sides of his stomach, crawling up his throat. He doesn't know what to do. "Tina," he repeats, "Tina, sweetie, will you look at me? Please?" He rubs her back a little more and brushes a hand by her face. "It's okay. Really. It's--please look at me, Tina. Please."
Tina awkwardly lifts her head out of her lap, and wipes at her eyes with the back of her hands. "I'm so stupid," she moans, "making a big deal out of nothing. I mean, you're really trying to make this day so nice, and here I am, just acting like a moron. And a crybaby."
Artie slides his gloves off and smoothes his hands over her cheeks, wiping the tears away. He leans in and kisses her on the nose. "Hey," he says finally. "Listen to me. You had every right to think what you did--I should have waited a little longer. You aren't acting like a moron. I am not best friends with a moron or with a crybaby. I'm sorry I pushed things a little bit. I know you're not like most girls--that's why I love you so much." He tugs her closer, pulling her into his lap and kissing the top of her head. "I love you, Tee. And don't call yourself stupid or moronic. I'd like to think I have better taste than that."
"Can we start over?" Tina bites her lip nervously, even as she's busy embracing him as tightly as she can manage. "A do-over? And uh, can I borrow your gloves?"
Artie smiles, and puts the gloves on her himself. Then he chuckles. "My hands are bigger than yours," he says. "And yeah, we can start over. From where?"
Tina leans forward to kiss him on the forehead, and then she hops up from the floor, darting back to her room quickly. "Give me fifteen minutes, all right?"
Artie watches her warily. "Fifteen minutes. Okay, sure."